Gupta Empire (400 – 600 AD)
- On ruins of Kushan Empire rose Gupta Empire
- Constituted majority of UP & Bihar
- Main center of power at Prayag (Allahabad)
- Founder of Gupta Dynasty was Sri- gupta
- Srigupta was succeeded by Ghatochkacha
- Both of them were called Maharaja
Chandragupta 1
- 1st to be called as Maharajadhiraja (Great king of kings)
- Married Lichchhavi princess which gave him strength & prestige
- Considered to be founder of Gupta era as a mark of his ascension
- Mehraulli iron pillar inscriptions mentions his extensive quests
Samundragupta
- Known as greatest ruler of Gupta dynasty & Napolean of India
- Was opposite of Asoka & delighted in military conquest.
- Inscriptions of his military conquest are mentioned (in sanskrit with Nagari script) on same Allahabad pillar which carries inscriptions of peace loving Asoka
- Samundragupta never knew any defeat & conquered east till Assam, west till eastern Afganistan, North till Kashmir & south till Tamilnadu
- Was a lover of art & literature, Self-proficient in music & poetry, hence called Kaviraja
- Patronised many poets & scholars along with famous Harisena
- Was an ardent follower of vaishnavism but tolerant to other religions
Chandragupta 2 (Chandragupta Vikramaditya)
- His reign saw high watermark of Gupta Empire
- Extended his empire by military conquests & marriage alliances
- Defeated Shakas in Malwa & Gujrat & conquered western sea port, henceforth, Ujjain became 2ndcapital of Guptas, 1st being Prayag
- His exploits as Chandra has been mentioned on Qutub iron pillar Delhi
- His reign at Ujjain court saw numerous scholars including “Kalidasa & Amarsimha”
- It was his reign under which chinese pilgrimage Fa-hsien / Fahien (399-414 AD) visited India
Fall of Gupta Empire
- Due to invasion of Hunas from central Asia
- Due to rise of Yashodharman in Malwa
- Due to dissention within the royal family & weak rulers
- The later Gupta’s embraced Buddhismwhile their predecessors were staunch Hindus.
Gupta’s Administration
- Unlike Mauryas, Guptas assumed titles like parmeshwara, Maharajadhiraja & Paramabhattaraka
- Provinces in Gupta’s period were known as Bhuktis & provincial governors Uparikas
- King maintained close contacts with provincial administration through a class of officials called “Kumaramatyas” & “Ayuktas”
- Provinces were divided into districts Vishayas under charge of Vishayapati
- All foreign affairs were looked after by foreign affair minister known as “Sandivigraha”
- Villagers were subjected to forced labour called Vishti for serving royal army & officials
Religion & Social Culture
- Brahamans formed the top ladder & receive numerous gifts
- Brahamanism reigned supreme during Gupta period & had 2 branches mainly, Vaishnavism & Shaivism, with former more prevalent (Bhagavatism)
- Fahien accounts shows a decline of Budhhism in Gangetic valley but a few budhhist monks like Vasubandhu were patronised by Gupta kings
Art & Culture
- Gupta age is called golden age of India in field of art, science & literature
- Nagara & Dravidian styles of art evolved during this period
- Delhi iron pillar, 7 ½ feet Buddha statue & Deogarh temple are finest example of Gupta art
- Mural paintings of Ajanta, which mainly depicted life stories of Buddha as in Jtaka stories belong to this period (Paintings at Sigiria in Srilanka are influenced by Ajanta paintings)
Literature
- Sanskrit became primary language in Gupta period
- Ramayana & Mahabharata were compiled during this period
| Kalidasa | Abhigyanshakuntalam, Malvikagnimitram Vikramorvasiya, KumarsambhavaRaghuvamsa , Ritusamhara, Meghaduta |
| Vishakadatta | Mudrarakshash & Devi – Chandraguptam |
| Vishnusharma | Panchtantra stories |
| Sudraka | Mrich – chakatika (Little clay art or toy cart) |
| Amarsimha | Amarkosha (Lexicon in sanskrit) |
| Dandin | Kavyadarsa & Desa – kumarcharita |
Science & Technology
| Aryabhatta | Aryabhatiyam , Suryasidhhanta |
| Varahmitra | Panch sidhhanta (5 astronomical system) Brihadsamhita, Brihadjataka (Astrology) |
| Vagbhata | Ashtangasamgraha (Summary of 8 branches of Medicine) |
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